[ErikB]

My starter has been acting up again, especially in the cold mornings. I have to have my son turn the key while I go out and smack it with a tire iron to get it to turn over in the morning.

It has the EXACT same symptoms as if the contacts were worn (intermittant CLICK, but no turning over), so I replaced them again even though they weren't very worn this time, but that didn't fix it.

The plunger still looked OK. I just cleaned it up again.

So is there anything else in there that wears out over time? Like brushes in the motor or something?

 

[killalux]

it will be the brushes worn out

 

[NOODLES]

bad connection at the battery or hot in on the starter, or bad wire for the solonoid, or you just got another bad new starter.
I have gotten a few bad starters and alternators, and a few times there was a few in a row that came to the shop straight from the parts store that did not work right. tell you what it is easier to change a starter with no inner fender wells.

 

[ErikB]

OK, so it could be the battery, or the connections, or the starter? Thanks for narrowing it down for me. :flipoff2:

I didn't replace the starter, I replaced the solenoid contacts in the starter.

And its definitely not the battery connections. One cable is new, the battery is relatively new, and the battery is an Orbital, so there is no acid to corrode anything. And I had the battery out the other day and verified the connections were fine then as well.
The symptoms are usually a little different when its a bad battery connection anyway. BTDT.

The starter goes "click," so power is getting from the key to the starter and the solenoid is moving. Something stops there. Either the solenoid isn't making consistent contact, or something is wrong w/ the starter motor itself...

 

[OOP'S]

After two sets of contacts and two starters my was still do it. That is why I put the push button instead of using the key. Have not had a problems since!!!!!

 

[whitetoy]

What about that thingee that makes contact with
those copper contacts ? Does that look OK ?

I have a spare 22R starter that you can borrow.
Got it off a pnp Celica , and used it for a year just to make
sure it worked.

 

[DARKFLY]

push button?

 

[eep]

I was having probs starting in cold weather. I cleaned the terminal on the starter and no more problems. Check your battery too.

 

[speedy]

fought the same problems went to push button no more problems.mentioned it to a toy tech he asked if i had an alarm with starter kill and to disconect it if i did.now i have two ways to start my truck.

 

[Pazuzu]

Wow, lots of people who didn't read the posts, huh?

Erik, I bet it's just getting gunky in there. There was some talk way back when on the old mailing list that even with new contacts and stuff, sometimes there enough electro-disolving type stuff going on that the metal is eaten away enough to not give a good circuit, even if all of the contacts are freshly burnished. Hell, I think Roger was even playing with the idea of making contacts out of pennys...
Try to give the plunger a good cleaning, try adjusting the angle that the contacts sit at (I think they can get a bit twisted when you run the nut down, and not get a good contact). Try cleaning any gunk out of there. Also, with it on the bench, try cycling it a few times, and see if you can determine anything that way (can you run them with that access cover off??).

Edit: Oh yeah, the V6 engines are really bad about that, cheap starters last about 6 months. I'm so tempted to rig up a remote hammer under the hood, with a spring and maybe a magnet, so I can use it to bang the starter body while I sit confortably in the seat turning the key

 

[steveh]

Erik, when I did mine, I did not clean up the parts good enough, and 2 weeks later, click, click ...

So, on round 2, I completely cleaned all the parts spotless, then used NAPA Sil-Glyde, to lube up the moving parts and protect from corrosion. So far after a few months, not one problem starting

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